Photograph courtesy of The Bug Chicks
Insect education duo The Bug Chicks travel the world teaching people about crawly critters of all kinds. The eponymous chicks, Kristie Reddick and Jessica Honaker, are based in Cincinnati and want to teach the people of the city to love bugs as much as they do.
How did The Bug Chicks come to be?
Kristie Reddick: Jessica and I met in grad school. We were both studying entomology. I asked her to come with me to Kenya for my research. I paid for her travel with my student loans, and I bought a truck on a credit card, which I don’t recommend. I needed someone to film my work, and about a month in of her watching me teach [about bugs], she wanted to do it, too. Jessica Honaker: One of the professors that Kristie worked with suggested that we be on camera together and that we call ourselves “The Bug Ladies.” Kristie landed on “The Bug Chicks,” and that’s how the brand took off. We’ve been The Bug Chicks now for 16 years.
What is your mission as The Bug Chicks?
KR: It’s about empowerment. It’s about fostering empathy for ourselves, others and the natural world. We use bugs to help people feel capable of great things. I used to be afraid of bugs. 15 minutes ago, maybe you didn’t want to hold that cockroach. But if we work with you and get you to hold it, you felt capable. JH: We’re also big on public access to science. We want to create accurate but fun content that anybody can access. We think if you can see it, you can be it. We want to show people that women can be scientists, and people from all walks of life can love and embrace the things that they want.
How did you end up in Cincinnati?
KR: We got a gig at the Cincinnati Nature Center in 2019. We were ready to go, and then Jess got sent to another gig, so I had to go by myself. I hadn’t been to Cincinnati in 20 years. The Nature Center was so warm and welcoming to us, and I just got such good vibes from this city. There was an East Coast directness and a Midwest kindness that was wonderful.
What are some examples of the work you do with the public?
JH: We create a lot of educational video content [for various agencies], we’ve worked with the USDA, and we do a lot of international work. KR: We do a lot of cool international work, but some of our favorite work is the workshops and assemblies that we do at libraries and schools. Incredible Arthropods and Songs of Science are [some examples]. We love to teach people in person. JH: We teach some STEM weeks with area high schools where we take overnight trips to do research, too. KR: We are transitioning now into a lot of “train the trainer” to make sure our impact continues. You can teach a lot of students, but you can reach more by teaching teachers.
Where do the bugs live?
JH: They currently live in my home office. Kristie and I have shared custody, so we switch on and off. KR: I had them for years, but during the pandemic I sent them to her as I moved across the country. They’re very happy at Jessica’s house.
What do you think makes Cincinnati wonderfully weird?
KR: Coming from a newer city where everything is a grid, it does feel kind of hard to get to [places directly]. That’s the essence of Cincinnati, there’s a beautiful mix of old and new and a constant trying to hodgepodge it together, which I like. Every time I drive, I see something I hadn’t seen before. JH: There’s something about some of the folklore here, like the Loveland Frogman. And the haunted places in Cincinnati. I like that part of the city—that weird old ghost story side of it.
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